Clarification from the agency

This job is opened to all qualified U.S. Citizens, Current Federal Employees, and Former Federal Employees.

**The selectee may be reassigned to the tier 2 after demonstrated level of competence in the position**.

The Director, Air Warfare Cost Analysis Division, conducts technical studies of the life cycle costs of proposed weapon and national security systems and of modifications to weapon and national security systems in service. These studies cover all costs incurred in the acquisition, operation and support, and retirement of major weapon systems -- design, fabrication of test articles, static and flight tests, non-recurring and recurring costs of production hardware, spares, support equipment, maintenance, manpower, consumables, and disposal. The studies are highly technical in character and include consideration of alternative solutions to defense requirements that are not constrained by the policies or responsibilities of any one military department or component of the Department of Defense. The results of the studies contribute directly to decisions made by the Secretary and the Deputy Secretary of Defense on acquisition and funding over the life-cycle of major weapon and national security systems. The incumbent's program areas of responsibility include, but are not limited to the following:

• Provides technical guidance for studies of weapon system costs undertaken by military departments and defense agencies, and reviews the results of such studies. Supervises the review and evaluation of the cost analyses and costing methodologies used in major system Analyses of Alternatives (AoAs), and evaluations of alternatives for systems within his/her cognizance. Recommends sufficiency or insufficiency of Analyses of Alternatives based on consideration of the included cost analyses.
• Initiates and directs an active program of in-house and contract research to develop improved methods of weapon and national security system costing. Assesses the applicability of current cost analysis tools for systems that are in or are soon to enter the formal DoD milestone review process, and as necessary initiates the development or evaluation of required tools that are not available. Provides timely responses to developments in system technologies that require the development of new costing methods.
• Represents and assists the DD(CA) in the execution of these responsibilities to the Director, CAPE for the leadership of major program review issues. Reviews the reasonableness of the cost estimates and resources provided in the Program Objective Memoranda and Program Decision Memoranda for weapon systems under his/her cognizance.
• Represents the DD(CA) on steering groups, inter-departmental committees, and similar bodies, including those involving international partner nations.
• Directs and supervises a staff of highly trained and qualified operations research analysts, cost analysts, and other professionals.
• Supervises the preparation of independent estimates of the lifecycle costs of major systems in support of Defense Acquisition Board (DAB) and military department program, milestone, and decision point reviews.
• Prepares formal estimates of contractual savings achieved through the negotiation and implementation of multi-year procurement contracts of more than $500 million for major national security systems. These analyses enable Secretary of Defense certification of savings to Congress in accordance with 10 USC 3501.

Conditions of employment

• You must be a U.S. citizen to qualify for this position.
• Males born after 12-31-59 must be registered or exempt from Selective Service (see https://www.sss.gov/Home/Registration)
• All newly appointed Career SES leaders must sign the Reassignment Rights Obligations Agreement as a condition of appointment into the SES.
• You must submit to a drug test and receive a negative drug test before you can be appointed into this position. Designated and/or Random Drug Testing required.
• In order to qualify for this position, you must be able to obtain a Top Secret security clearance and access to Sensitive Compartmented Information (TS/SCI).
• Submit resume and all other required documents online by 11:59 PM Eastern Standard Time on08/14/2024
• The individual selected will be required to file an 'Executive Branch Personnel Financial Disclosure Report (OGE-278) in accordance with the Ethics in Government Act of 1978.
• You will serve a one-year probationary period unless you have previously completed the probationary period in the SES.

Qualifications

To meet the minimum qualification requirements for this position, you must show that you possess the five Executive Core Qualifications (ECQs), the Mandatory Technical Qualifications, and other qualifications, if applicable, listed below.

EXECUTIVE CORE QUALIFICATIONS: All applicants must submit written statements (narrative format) describing accomplishments that would satisfy the ECQs. You must address each ECQ separately, not to exceed 10 pages. You are required to respond to all ECQs. If you fail to do so will result in a rating of 'ineligible.' When responding to the Executive Core Qualifications (ECQs), you must clearly show that you possess the experience, knowledge, skills and ability to perform the duties of this position by submitting narrative responses in which you detail your experience in each of the ECQs. Your examples should be clear and emphasize your level of responsibilities, scope and complexity of programs managed, program accomplishments with results of your actions, policy initiatives and level of contacts. You should limit your narrative to two pages per ECQ, and address each ECQ separately. OPM's Guide to Senior Executive Service Qualifications can assist you in writing an effective SES application. In particular, please note the Challenge-Context-Action-Result Model that is recommended and very helpful when drafting ECQ narrative responses. The Guide is available on OPM's Website at:
http://www.opm.gov/ses/references/guidetoSESQuals_2012.pdf

Applicants must utilize the Challenge-Context-Action-Result (CCAR) Model when writing Executive Core Qualifications (ECQ). Use two examples of relevant experience for each ECQ being sure your experience matches the ECQ criteria.

Challenge - Describe a specific problem or goal.
Context - Describe the individuals and groups you worked with, and/or the environment in which you worked, to address a particular challenge (e.g., clients, co-workers, members of Congress, shrinking budget, low morale).
Action - Discuss the specific actions you took to address a challenge.
Result - Give specific examples of measures/outcomes that had some impact on the organization. These accomplishments demonstrate the quality and effectiveness of your leadership skills.

Each accomplishment should be clear, concise, and emphasize your level of responsibilities; the scope and complexity of the programs, activities, or services you managed; program accomplishments; policy initiatives undertaken; level of contacts; the sensitivity and criticality of the issues you addressed; and the results of your actions. You should use action oriented leadership words to describe your experience and accomplishments (e.g., Led the development and implementation of....) and quantify your experience wherever possible to demonstrate your accomplishments (e.g., number of employees supervised; size of budget managed; amount of money saved, etc.).

ECQ 1 - Leading Change: This core qualification involves the ability to bring about strategic change, both within and outside the organization, to meet organizational goals. Inherent to this ECQ is the ability to establish an organizational vision and to implement it in a continuously changing environment.

ECQ 2 - Leading People: This core qualification involves the ability to lead people toward meeting the organization's vision, mission, and goals. Inherent to this ECQ is the ability to provide an inclusive workplace that fosters the development of others, facilitates cooperation and teamwork, and supports constructive resolution of conflicts.

ECQ 3 - Results Driven: This core qualification involves the ability to meet organizational goals and customer expectations. Inherent to this ECQ is the ability to make decisions that produce high-quality results by applying technical knowledge, analyzing problems, and calculating risks.

ECQ 4 - Business Acumen: This core qualification involves the ability to manage human, financial, and information resources strategically.

ECQ 5 - Building Coalitions: This core qualification involves the ability to build coalitions internally and with other Federal agencies, State and local governments, nonprofit and private sector organizations, foreign governments, or international organizations to achieve common goals.

Applicants that are either Career SES members, or graduates of the Office of Personnel Management Certified Development Program are not required to address the ECQs.

MANDATORY TECHNICAL QUALIFICATIONS: All applicants must submit written statements (narrative format) of accomplishments that would satisfy the technical qualifications. You must address each technical qualification separately. You are required to respond to all of the technical qualifications. If you fail to do so, you will be rated as ineligible. Please limit your written statements to no more than two pages per technical qualification. DoD Joint Enterprise-Wide Experience Statement: In addition, DoD requires an Enterprise Perspective. This individual must have the ability to apply a broad point of view and an awareness and understanding of individual or organizational responsibilities in relation to DoD or government-wide strategic priorities is required. Executives must demonstrate ability to work with internal and external partners to support national security objectives. This perspective is typically gained through a variety of diverse work experiences. A separate narrative statement is not required. This information should be embedded within the application package (Resume, Technical Qualifications and Executive Core Qualifications).

1. Knowledge and experience with the techniques of weapon system, national security system, or other similar highly complex system cost analysis, including the collection and use of contractor-reported information on the actual costs of hardware and software systems, including earned value management information.
2. Knowledge and experience with the weapon system, national security system, or other similar highly complex system development, production, operations, and of DoD (or other similar government) acquisition processes.
3. Knowledge of the DoD (or other similar government) requirements determination processes for weapon systems, national security systems, or other similar highly complex systems, and demonstrated analytic ability to model the relationship between life cycle costs and requirements.

How you will be evaluated

You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.

You will be evaluated on the quality and extent of your total accomplishments, experience, and education. Your application will be evaluated by a rating and ranking panel. Highly qualified candidates may undergo an interview and a reference check. The Office of the Secretary of Defense Executive Resources Board will review results and make recommendations on final selections to the appointing authority. Unless you have already been certified by the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) Qualifications Review Board (QRB), your ECQs must be certified by the OPM QRB before your appointment can occur.